Internet Pornography – What Parents, Regulator and ISPs Should do?

Guest Post By Nazakat Hussain

Internet equipped computers are now widely used in schools, and 100’s of millions of children and teenagers around the world use computers for educational and leisure purposes. Unfortunately there are many aspects of the use of home computers and their associated use can be of concern to parents.

As our families become increasingly intertwined with it, the more active role we must take to protect our loved ones is from “Internet pornography”. Well-informed parents can, and they must play an active role in their children’s online activities.

Internet pornography is a big business with over 1 million pornographic web sites, more than 260 million pages of porn playing to 75 million adults and 25 million children online and this number is growing every day.

According to Google, porn shares 7% of the 3.3 billion pages on the web. The pornography industry is larger than the revenues of the top technology companies combined: Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo!, Apple, Netflix and EarthLink.

Pornography websites are fastest, cheapest and are in easy access of Internet user. Only certain commercial sites require a credit card to enter, and worst of all, many port sites are opened as popups. A report says “Most Internet users viewed pornography—often by accident when a site shows up in their e-mail”.

There are some ways to protect our children and families. It is important for people to be educated on Internet safety issues and ways to deal with. Education and parental involvement is vital, but the use of porn blocker technology to monitor, block or filter content is extremely helpful.

Nowadays such Internet filtering and monitoring programs are a vital part of any home computer’s software.

Information on pornography is available to any child who is connected to the web, and it is highly unsuitable for children of any age. While web surfing the sites are easily accessible through search engines, simply by typing any word related to the topic.

Such sites can expose a child to photos, videos and stories of a highly indecent and often shocking nature, once found. The child is then able to freely download as many files as he/she likes and save on disk.

Considering a bid to prevent children, in a recent past Sri Lanka’s president has ordered an immediate ban on pornographic websites. Similarly, India has called Internet pornography a serious crime. Any person browsing or downloading pornographic pictures or films will be punished for five years with a fine of upto Rs 1 million reported in a newspaper.

Service providers have been asked to filter websites showing obscene, pornographic and other sexually explicit material. The telecommunication regulator directed that, if an adult wants to have unrestricted access to the Internet, they have to pay and get a password from the service provider.

Similarly in Pakistan, PTA can regulate the internet practices while directives for ISPs can save our youth from internet porn.

Internet filter software adds a strong, additional layer of defense, giving parents an added measure of control and further peace of mind. Internet filter software gives parent’s the ability to control content displayed, block websites and set up passwords.

Powerful services like email filtering, popup blocking and chat room monitoring are just some of the tools available with today’s Internet filter software, each designed to protect against and counteract the tactics of aggressive online porn companies. There are so many Internet filter software choices available in the market.

Internet Explorer offers security and privacy. You can block a site by following the directions below:

1. Load Internet explorer
2. Click Tools
3. Click Internet Options
4. Click the privacy tab
5. Under the Privacy window, click sites
6. Enter website address you want to block in the site address and click Ok.

Safely usage of internet

Parent should think of the Internet as a big lake. There are shallow spots and deep spots. You would never throw your child into the lake without supervision, without learning to swim or without learning of the dangerous areas. You would never let your children swim in the dark.

Strategies may protect child from harm on the Internet:

Install “blocking software” with the help of local computer store. Such software prevents targeted web sites from appearing on computer.

Keep computer in a public area in house such as the kitchen, family room or hallway. Children will be embarrassed if sexual content appears and will not want to be caught in open territory with it on the screen. Porn needs secrecy to survive. No secrecy, no porn.

If the computer is to remain in your child’s room, the door must be open when the Internet is in use.

Check the Temporary Internet Files and History Folder on the computer. The rule is, no deleting these files. Parents are advised to view these files periodically. These files will show you exactly what has been viewed and which web sites were accessed. They even will show date and time. No files, no computer.

Remember, safety on the Internet is not a matter of trusting child. It is a matter of understanding childhood curiosity and the trouble that can cause. It is always up to the parents to protect children from harm and learn the strategies to do so.

It is a major concern of many social scientists that pornographic photos and videos do not convey realistic human feelings. The focus is on the mechanics, and the personal and even spiritual dimension of sex is missing.

CyberSieve 2.6.2

An Internet filtering and parental control software program, it gives the ability to control and monitor child’s use of the Internet, irrespective of where you are: in the neighboring room, at work, or even on vacation, thus enabling you to protect your child from the dangers of the Internet.

In addition, this program enables businesses to limit and control their employees’ access to the Internet and computer as a whole.

• Integration with popular search engines.
• Block images section in popular search engines.
• Special Web Sites and Special Programs Lists with own Timetables and Time Limits.

CyberSieve 2.6.2 software program is downloadable on 14 Day Trial basis and you can buy it by paying just $34.95. This simple software program blocks all type of porn sites, chat rooms such as Yahoo and MSN Messenger.

Writer is working with Xenith Public Relations as Account Manager in North region.